Volleyball

Foton survives gritty Cignal in title-retention bid opener

Foton escapes with a four-set victory over Cignal to open its title-retention bid in the 2017 PSL Grand Prix.

Games Tuesday:

(Filoil Flying V Centre)

4:15 p.m. –- Sta. Lucia vs Iriga City

7:00 p.m. –- Generika-Ayala vs Cocolife

Reigning champion Foton Tornadoes recovered from a third-set meltdown to eke out a pulsating, 25-15, 25-19, 22-25, 25-22, victory over Cignal in the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix Saturday at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Serbian Sara Klisura was on fire at the attack zone as she delivered 22 attacks laced with three kills and an ace for 27 points to lift the Tornadoes to their first victory.

Last year’s Most Valuable Player, Jaja Santiago, had 12 kills, four blocks and three rebounds for 19 points while Montenegrin Dragana Perunicnic chipped in nine markers.

“First win is good. For one moment people were thinking that it’s going to be 3-0 for Foton but it’s not true,” said Foton’s Serbian coach Moro Branislav. “Cignal is strong, for my opinion, it’s going to be in the semifinals. It is one of the best teams in the competition.”

With the victory, the Tornadoes claimed an early lead in this season-ending conference, joining Petron on top following its 25-13, 25-17, 25-19 demolition of Generika-Ayala in the first match.

Beth Carey of Australia had 20 points while Rachel Anne Daquis and Alexis Matthews of United States added nine markers apiece for the HD Spikers, who had a torrid rally in the closing stretch of the fourth set as Cignal saved five set points only to fall in the end.